What began as a side project for Festival of Doom has evolved into Doom Juice Cellar Door. We spoke with co-founders Zachary Godbolt and Sebastian Keys about the venture and doing things differently.
How did Doom Juice start – planned, or accidental?
Zachary Godbolt: We started Doom Juice in early 2021 as a bit of a side project that would be available at my annual music and arts festival “The Festival Of Doom” – I would say somewhat planned but it becoming our jobs feels a little more accidental.
Sebastian Keys: We started Doom Juice to give our mates a fun way to enjoy wine for a big party. And nothing’s really changed since.
Where did both your journeys begin within the hospo industry?
ZG: I came from pretty much cooking then to cocktail and wine establishments. A fun tit-bit is that I was taught how to make cocktails at the Little Guy in Glebe by the owners Dan & Dynn, who are now some of my business partners in The Bat & Ball Hotel.
SK: Dishy to then the front of house in the early days, then working in wine distribution for six years at Single Vineyard Sellers. There, I was able to cut my teeth in the industry, learning in depth about wines from all over the world and understanding what wine people actually want to be drinking.
Did you think the market was missing something with the opening of Doom Juice Cellar Door?
ZG: I wouldn’t go as far to say missing, there’s plenty of incredible wine bars in Sydney. Although, in the immediate area us offering a fully dedicated wine space (with of course a few beers) is pretty unique and so far it seems like the punters are enjoying a little change up as they make their way through the incredible Marrickville Ale Trail.
SK: We definitely wanted to break the mould and reimagine what a “wine bar” can be. We let our imagination go wild with all the elements of the Cellar Door and just tried to make it as exciting as possible.
What is it like to build something like Doom Juice Cellar Door and what did you learn from the build and process of it all?
ZG: It is a journey that’s for sure, it’s a huge mix of excitement and pure terror. The project was super collaborative, we have artworks from mates like Shane Salvador’s huge 5 metre tall oil painting or Taz’s massive skull disco ball – we also had family members that work in trades come and help, shout out to Jezza & Shane (my father / in-law). When you’re building any bar I feel like it doesn’t become real or look any good until the final hours, you need all the shit out, everything’s everywhere and you sometimes take 45 minutes just to find a hammer and not many mention how many times you have to go to Bunnings just because you forgot one little thing, painful.
SK: If you need us to drill a hole somewhere, we can do it now! I have a whole new appreciation for the trades and am really thankful for all the learnings from the process. We got into it so much that we got on a first-name basis with most of the team at Bunnings Alexandria.
If someone wants to start a label or venue – where do they start and what advice would you give based on your own learning?
ZG: I think for beverage I would highly recommend going against the grain and carving out your own community, if you enjoy something or vibe with it, there will most likely be others out there that do also. For a venue if you’re lucky enough to have people that have done it before you should listen, observe and get help from them, I have been very fortunate to have this network.
SK: Definitely agreed there. You have to know exactly what you’re offering and know why you’d expect folks to spend their hard-earned cash at your venue, compared to the many great ones out there. What is your point of difference that builds your community?
How important is branding vs product in your perspective?
ZG: Always product, you can have the best branding in the world but if you’re product does not match that standard then you will not create a business that has return customers. In the past some have assumed that Doom Juice’s wine is not good because it has good branding and socials, that sentiment couldn’t be further from the truth, I don’t think we would’ve made a job out of it if the wine tasted bad to be honest.
SK: Banding vs product go hand in hand. Our wine is well made designer social lubricant. When you pull out a bottle of Doom Juice at party, it signals that you know what’s up!
Scooby Doo references… and any other references or inspiration, how did you come up with this concept?
ZG: I used to collect Scooby Doo props when I was younger, also had dreams of owning a “Spooky Island-Esque theme park”. Reference wise very much a little hint of church, mixed with goth and a touch of industrial really was the brief. Our dear friend Taz has been making disco balls for years and it only seemed right to get her onboard to make the 90KG skull disco ball you see hovering over the bar; it is truly a spectacle.
SK: We were keen on something big! Zac’s idea to get the Scooby Doo ball is just one of the many crackers! You may be able to predict our next moves in the future because I’m sure Zac just wants to open a circus at some point.
Feeding off the previous question – what do you want people to feel when they walk in?
ZG: I hope that it really is a unique, slightly mind-blowing moment, we spent so much time on making it a pretty out of the ordinary space, especially for a “Cellar Door”, all of this complemented by our very warm and friendly staff is pretty much the vibe.
SK: I want people to feel like they are in the coolest cellar ever and never want to leave.
Zach – how do your different venues feed into each other – are they separate worlds or part of the same universe?
ZG: I think while they’re very different (pub verses slightly satanic cellar door) we always still have a bit of jazz here and there, while the Bat & Ball has a vintage tea-towel museum in the pool room, the cellar has a collection of Mexican devil masks… or the red boiler suits at the cellar while we have the custom vintage workers jackets at the pub.
I love being able to collaboratively decorate a new space and come up with new ideas that hopefully stay with the guest, every venue should have a couple of quirks.
What role does community play in all of this – especially being in Marrickville Ale Trail?
ZG: After living here in Marrickville for most of my 20’s I’m just stoked we are a part of it to be honest, the role we play is up to how the customer wants to perceive it, a wine option on the way through or a spot to spend the whole evening after a few crafty schooners, choose your own journey I say!
SK: Community is everything. We are only here because people find it fun place to kick back with friends and have a good time. We want to continually make it exciting for every person that walk through the door and make them feel as welcome as possible.